MURRIETA: Bomb squad destroys briefcase left outside Starbucks

TERI FIGUEROA tfigueroa@nctimes.com

A bomb squad destroyed a mysterious briefcase ---- which an X-ray revealed contained circuit boards and wires ---- after employees found it in front of a Murrieta Starbucks early Sunday morning, a police sergeant said.

It turns out that the case contained an iPad and a Boss Guitar amplifier and mixing machine, Murrieta police Sgt. Jay Froboese said.

Froboese said employees spotted the briefcase ---- with the lock numbers all turned to zero ---- outside the door of the coffee shop at 40735 Murrieta Hot Springs Road when they arrived for work just after 5 a.m. The suspicious situation led police to call on the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's bomb squad, the sergeant said.

It was unclear if a customer accidentally left the case behind or if a thief stole it and left it at the coffee shop.

Either way, there's not much left to reclaim. Froboese said the bomb squad destroyed the case and its contents with a water cannon and 12-gauge shotgun after the X-ray revealed wires and circuits.